41 acres of Civil War land in Varina protected from development

A 41-acre piece of historic Civil War land in Henrico has been preserved by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, in partnership with the Capital Region Land Conservancy.

The site, known as Little Malvern Hill, was part of the larger Malvern Hill Farm until about 1877. It encompasses areas where the Civil War Battles of Glendale (1862), Malvern Hill (1862), Deep Bottom I (1864), and Deep Bottom II (1864) took place. The latter two battles were the final two in the Peninsula Campaign, a major operation launched by the Union to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond.

The historic preservation easement placed on the property, located at 5270 New Market Road, protects it from subdivision and commercial development.

“I’m glad to see this distinction awarded to historic sites in Henrico Country,” U.S. Senator Mark Warner said, “America’s rich, and at times troubling, history is woven into the fabric of the Commonwealth, and preserving these sites is crucial to telling the whole story of our country.”

CRLC Land Holdings, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Capital Region Land Conservancy, acquired Little Malvern Hill in 2023 in part through a Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant from the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program and a Virginia Land Conservation Foundation grant administered by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. As a requirement of the grants, CRLC donated the easement to the Virginia Board of Historic Resources. CRLC intends to interpret the property for its historic battlefield significance and provide the public with access to the property’s history.

“We are proud to continue protecting the natural and historic resources in Henrico County through this acquisition of 41 acres adjacent the larger 871-acre Malvern Hill Farm tract that CRLC purchased five years ago,” said Parker C. Agelasto, executive director of Capital Region Land Conservancy. “Acre by acre, we are connecting to a larger landscape of more than 6,000 acres that yields a sizeable benefit for wildlife, agriculture, outdoor recreation, and historic preservation.”

The landscape of Little Malvern Hill is mostly level, with a mix of open land and forested terrain. A historic earthen road runs along the eastern boundary of the property. The easement protects more than 26 acres of forested cover, more than 34 acres of soils identified as prime farmland, and approximately 50 feet of frontage on Crewes Channel. The property fronts New Market Road for about a quarter-mile, where it is visible from the Virginia Capital Trail.

“Protecting this historically significant site, adjacent to Richmond National Battlefield Park, increases the connectivity of protected lands around Malvern Hill,” said Matthew S. Wells, director of the Virginia DCR and executive secretary of the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation. “With significant road frontage along Route 5, a designated Virginia Byway, this acquisition also helps to protect scenic views that are important to Virginians,” Wells said.

As of 2023, DHR has placed under easement more than 45,000 acres of land. DHR easements are held by the VBHR, and DHR staff monitor the eased lands. The VBHR currently holds easements on approximately 15,900 acres of battlefields in Virginia.